The invention generally relates to training of repetitive body motions, more specifically relating to sports requiring swinging movements (e.g., golf). The invention more particularly concerns a device that trains the body, and in-particular, the head, to create repeatable motions of proper form.
Sporting events—particularly golf—require swinging movements which are very repeatable and of good technique, to achieve a skill level to play competitive or even casual golf. Professional and amateur golfers will agree that it is a difficult game to master, but learning certain movements and being able to repeat them will set the ball in good motion. God given talents, such as good hand-eye coordination, help these efforts; however, most of the learning process regards physical movements which must all be performed in concert. That is, the position of the body must coordinate with the timing of the swing, and the plane of the actual swing must coordinate with the natural rotation of the body, and the placement of the ball.
The swing plane is a plane through which the club is swung, and the proper swing plane travels through the position of the head; additionally, the head is at the center of the ideal swing plane. Indeed, the coach of a famous golfer was once noted as having grabbed the hair of his student, while the swing was practiced, so as to keep the head stationary. Movement of the head will cause varying angles of contact, when the club actually strikes the ball, thereby affecting shot consistency.
Many training aids have been developed to address the myriad aspects of the perfect golf swing. However, these existing devices leave much to be desired.
One such device uses elastic bands to position the arm relative to the hip during the swing. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,027,413, and 6,672,115. A similar device uses a harness around the user's chest. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,761. Yet another device uses a combination of a hip and chest attachment. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,885. These devices are restrictive regarding certain aspects of the golf swing; additionally, they appear cumbersome and/or expensive, and may actually interfere with other aspects of a proper swing. Practicing a swing with a harness or chest-attachment is likely to—in itself—lead to a faulty swing, when the devices are removed.
Devices exist that are designed to show the axis of rotation or swing path, these generally use lights, infra-red detectors, or LASER beams to track the movement. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,071,202, 5,087,047 and 6,059,668, respectively. These devices require complicated electronics, and are difficult to actually set-up and use.
Another approach to limiting body movement, is to brace the lower leg region. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,656. These leg braces may inhibit unwanted movement, but they also prohibit the natural weight shifting, from one leg to another, and the natural twisting of the upper and lower torso during the swing itself; and especially during the follow-through. A similar approach may be seen taken with positioning posts or standard crossbars. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,926. These may be employed near the body of the golfer to prevent swaying of the torso, however, this device suffers the same limitations as the predecessor device. Additionally, if it is moved out of the way of the swing, and the natural movement of the torso during a proper swing, it will not be visible. Moreover, if sight-checking to orient the golfer during the swing is the mechanism of operation—in any of these devices—the golfer will be distracted from one of his or her primary goals; that is, keeping the eye on the ball.
Devices do exist which are designed to monitor the movement of the head. One such device can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,779, where gyroscopes are used to monitor the head's movement. Additionally, gyroscopes monitor the attitude of the head. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,635. However, these types of devices measure rotation of the head, and can not measure minor or discrete linear movement. Of course, all of those types of movement—not simply rotation—are important swing aspects to be monitored.
Another problem with gyroscopes is that they usually are only effective in a two-dimensional plane, see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,324, and therefore require a plurality to be connected serially to cover complete ranges of movement. As discussed previously, linear movement is easily detected by these gyroscopic arrays, and they therefore can not adequately assess angularity of a stance or how much a body part (e.g., head) lift or drop during any activity. Additionally, electronic devices of the sort detailed in the '324 patent need to be set or oriented between each use, which is hardly practical during the repetitive movements of swing practice.
Certain devices exist to measure linear movement, but this is accomplished by the measurement of acceleration. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,796. As such, slow movements with minimal acceleration may go undetected, while rapid minor movements will trigger an alarm. Minor movements, regardless of the speed or acceleration, may not be problematic to the swing itself, and would be detected, and or trigger an alarm.
Many of these aforementioned devices use audible alarm systems to alert the user of an unsatisfactory condition. While already focusing on the myriad swing principles, the addition of an audible alarm—midswing—can hardly be of help. Rather this type of feedback would perhaps detract from the aspects of the swing that were being performed correctly. It must be remembered that the casual golfer, as well as the professional, can only assimilate information as fast as the brain can process it.
Additionally, each of these devices focuses on single aspects of the swing, so many devices would be required. This is both expensive, and difficult to store and/or transport for practice.